Planoqraph co



W. KELSO.

CAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1 l9l8. 1,309,29L

Patented J uly 8; 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

WW/14 mo gwuawtoz M ftozucqd THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm, WASHINGTON, D. c.

W. KELSO.

CAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED IUD/1,1918.

Elwumatoz Patented J uly 8, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM KELSO, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MGCONWAY 82;

TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITT$BURGI-L PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVAINIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

Application filed July 1, 1918.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM Kunso, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car Couplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrip tion of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the production of car couplers of a simple, efficient, easily operated and readily assembled form and has for its object to afford a construction wherein interchangeability of parts with corresponding parts of similar couplers is not dependent upon niceties of dimensions, but is insured within comparatively wide limits, and in which the operative relation of parts is unaffected by relatively great changes in the sizes of parts through wear.

' The accomplishment of these objects reduces manufacturing costs, facilitates repairs, and increases the life of the coupler in service.

Generally stated the principal feature of the invention involves the combination of a coupler head having open bearings in which a knuckle opener is journaled, a knuckle rotatably mounted on the coupler head,

7 a knuckle opener pivotally mounted in the bearings of the coupler head and capable of being disengaged therefrom by rotating its upper end around an axis extending at an angle to its normal pivotal axis, and locking mechanism for the knuckle provided with means for forcing the knuckle opener to normal position in the event it should be in improper relation to the lock when the latter is actuated to unlock the coupler. There are other features of invention residing in particular combinations of the elements of thestructure, as will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred form in which I have embodied the inven tion.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a car coupler embodying my invention, the upper part of the lifter of the locking mechanism and a portion of the coupler head being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the construction shown in Fig. 1, the outer end of the knuc- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1919.

Serial No. 242,723.

kle and part of the front wall of the coupler head being removed.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the structure, a portion of the coupler head being removed and the lower end of the lifter of the lock lng mechanism being shown in dotted lines in order more clearly to illustrate other features of construction.

Fig. 4: is a detail view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, illustrating the relation of the parts when the coupler is locked.

Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating the manner of assembling the knuckle opening lever in and releasing it from the bearings of the coupler head in which it is j ournaled.

Pivotally mounted upon the coupler head 1 by means of the knuckle pin 2 is a knuckle 3 which normally is restrained from outward or uncoupling rotation by locking mechanism that preferably comprises aloeking block 4, a trigger 5 operating both as a lock-set and a lock-to-the-lock, and a rigid lifter 6 projecting upwardly through the top wall of the coupler head and connected at its lower end to the locking block through the intermediacy of the trigger.

The coupler head 1 is interiorly provided above the tail of the knuckle 3 with laterally open pockets or journal bearings 7 and 8 which are respectively adapted to receive oppositely disposed trunnions 9 and 10 projecting from the bell-crank knuckle opening lever 11 and constituting the pivotal axis on which said lever swings in performing its function of opening the knuckle As illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings, the knuckle opening lever may be disengaged from the trunnion bearings 'l'and 8l yrotating it around a vertical axis so that its upper arm 12 swings rearwardly into the space 13 in which the locking mechanism operates within the coupler head.

Except as otherwise pointed out the form and relations of the parts heretofore referred to may correspond to the similar features illustrated and described in my earlier application for Letters Patent, Serial Number 205100, so that a detailed description of these parts is unnecessary herein.

The knuckle locking mechanism is provided with means for forcing the knuckle opening lever 11 to normal position in the event it should for any reason accidentally assume an improper position in its trunnion bearings T and 8. To this end the trigger 5 of the locking mechanism is preferably provided on its forward face above the locking clock lug or shoulder 14: by which the knuckle opening lever 11 is actuated with a downwardly sloping incline or projection 15 extending to or substantially to the forward edge of the topmost surface 16 of the locking block 4 adjacent the upper arm 12 of the knuckle opening lever; and the lower rear edge of the lever arm 12 may berounded slightly, as indicated at 17, By the engagement of the incline 15 with theupper arm of the knuckle opener II in the opera tion of unlocking the coupler, the knuckle opener will be restored to normal position, if it should have improperly shifted in its bearings, and any possible contactbetween its arm 12 and the topmost surface of the locking block d that would interfere with the raising of the block is prevented.

lVhen the parts of the coupler are in coupled or locked relation the lower end of the lifter 6 of the locking mechanism eX- tends downwardly beyond the upper portion of the knuckle opening lever 11. To guard against all possibility of the lifter becoming jammed by the knuckle opening lever under any conditions arising from freedom of fit of the parts due to any conceivable variations in sizes resulting from wear or manufacture, the upper arm- 12 of the knuckle opening lever 11 is soformed that its free end terminates above the shoulder 1d of the locking block between the lower end of the lifter 6 and the tail of the knuckle 3. This arrangement of parts alsoallows the strength of the locking block 4: to be increased by the addition of metal thereto at 18 in the line of thrust communicated from the tail of the knuckle 3 in pulling.

I claim:

1. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head provided with bearings in which a knuckle opening lever is journaled, of a knuckle pivotally mounted on said coupler head, locking mechanism for retaining said knuckle in coupled position and for engaging one arm of a knuckleopening lever to actuate said lever, a knuckle opening leverpivotall y mounted in said bearings and adapted to be disengaged therefrom by rotation on an axis extending at an angle to its operative pivotal axis, and means on said locking mechanism for forcing said knuckle opening lever to normal position in said bearings.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the- Commissioner of Patents,

2. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head provided with laterally open hearings in which a knuckle opening lever is journaled, of a knuckle pivotally mounted on said coupler head, locking mechanism for retaining said knuckle in coupled position and for engaging the upper arm of a knuckle opening lever to actuate said lever, a bell crank knuckle opening lever pivotally mounted. in said bearings and adapted to be disengaged therefrom by a rearward rotation of its upper arm, and means on said locking mechanism for rotating the upper arm. of the knuckle opening lever forwardly to normal position.

3. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head provided with laterally open bearings: in which a knuckle opening lever is j'ournaled, of a knuckle pivotally mounted on said coupler head, a knuckle opening lever pivotally mounted in said open bearings of the coupler head and adapted to be disengaged therefrom by a rearward movement of the upper end of said lever, and locking mechanism for retaining said knuckle in coupled position, said locking mechanism involving a locking block having a shoulder for actuating said knuckle opening lever and also involving an incline for forcing said knuckle opening lever to normal position with respect to said shoulder;v

4. In a car coupler, the combination with acoupler head, of a knuckle pivotally mounted thereon, locking mechanism for retaining said knuckle in coupled position and for actuating a knuckle opening lever, and a bell-crank knuckle opening lever pivotally mounted in said coupler head and adapted to rotate said knuckle to open position, said locking mechanism comprising. means adapted to force the knuckle opening, lever to normal position and involving a locking block and a rigid lifter, said locking block being housed within the coupler head and provided below its upper end with a shoulder for engaging the upper arm of the knuckle opening lever to actuate said lever, said lifter extending through the coupler head and being. connected to said locking block within the couplerhead and terminating below the upper portion of said knuckle opening. lever, and said knuckle opening lever having its upper arm: extending over said shoulder and terminating between said lifter and said knuckle.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.-

WILLIAM KELSO.

Washington,,]). 0'. 

